Mayo hammer Sligo to set up Galway showdown in u20 final

GAA: Connacht U20 Football Championship

By Colm Gannon in MacHale Park Mayo Advertiser, Fri, Jul 05, 2019

Heading for Tuam: Michael Solan is looking forward to taking on Galway in the u20 final next week. Photo: Sportsfile

Mayo made short work of Sligo in the Connacht u20 Football Championship semi-final in Castlebar on Wednesday evening, running out 1-25 to 1-6 winners to set up a final showdown against Galway in Tuam Stadium next Wednesday.

Michael Solan's charges led from pillar to post and were ten points up at the break - they never let the foot off the gas in the second half and ran out 19 point winners with 11 different players landing scores over the hour.

Ballinrobe's Evan O'Brien led the way with six points, with Tommy Conroy chipping in with five from play - while Stephen McGreal and Aiden Orme both hit three.

After the game Mayo manager Michael Solan was very happy with the performance and is looking forward to their next challenge: "We were delighted with the game we got this evening, the first round of the championship is never easy regardless of who you are playing. We just had to go out there and do our own job and focus on our own game and get our own side of things right, we were delighted to have gotten it done."

The most pleasing part of the win was his side's work rate, he said: "The overall work rate of the team is what we would be happy with, we would always judge and pride ourselves on working hard and going hard right from the start and the boys did that this evening, they didn't take the foot off the pedal at any stage and that would be very pleasing for us."

As for Galway, the coming week will be all about getting their homework done ahead of the game, he added: "We have seen them at different stages and heard different bits and pieces but the nature of the grade makes it hard, everybody is playing at the same time in different places, so it makes it hard to get a look at them, but we will do our homework over the week and have it done for next Wednesday."

As for having to travel to Tuam to take on Galway - that won't bother Mayo, according to Solan: "Not a factor for us, we will go and play anywhere, we are not bothered by the venue, we don't mind once the ball is thrown in where the game is, external things will have no bearing on the game, we will just be going the same as we did this week to work hard and put in a performance."

As for the group of players he has under his guidance - Solan was full of praise, saying: "The key thing that everybody is looking for is good people first and foremost and we've got a lot of really good lads in there, an absolute brilliant bunch of young fellas to work with, we have been incredibly lucky with them and that is the primary thing you want, good people around the place and we are certainly blessed with good lads around the squad."